I'm in the market for a used plow truck and was hoping I could get some pointers on what to look for when looking over a truck. I don't have anyone I can bring with me to help look over the truck so I'm hoping for some basic stuff to look at in order to prevent from getting screwed over.

Dont let the dealer now you dont know what your looking for when you are looking it over. Make it look like you know abit about what your looking at on the truck. Also look for rust spots ect. over sagging, and just ask questions about the truck (how many seasons it been used, has it had a salter on it at any point). make sure the plow and truck works. more guys will comment better than me (they will have more exsperiance). post pics when you find one!!!! welcome also!!!!

Rust should be one of the first things. Look the entire body over and look for rust, bubbles, body lines that dont match that may indicate body filler. Rust repair can be a costly repair. Next, open the door to pop the hood. While you have the door open, look at the general condition of the interior. Is it all tore to hell or does it look pretty neat? Next open the hood and pull the tranny dipstick. Look at the color, should be a bright red or even a slightly dull red is ok. Smell it, it should not smell burnt. Ask if there are any service or repair records. Look at the tidyness under the hood, is it oily, greasy, and grimey? Get down on the ground and use the flashlight ( that you remembered to grab ) and look very closely at the underside of the motor, transmission, transfer case, and differentials. The should be fairly clean. Some slight residual oil is ok but there should be no evidence of an active leak or seep.

Honestly, the best thing to do is: If you're not sure what you're looking at, bring it to a trusted mechanic or shop and have them go through it for you. This is just a quick list for ya in case you have one in mind. Happy hunting.

P.S.- If you do have one in mind, let us know the year, make, model, and mileage and we can steer you in a more precise direction of what to look for.

I'm gonna jump in here without hyjacking the thread. I'm looking at a 93 gmc 3500 4x2 dually, 160k. NO rust (dealer states it was a fire dept vehicle, which means garaged most of the time), havn't driven yet but looks good so far. asking price 1800. I'm having trouble pricing/finding a plow for it (for obvious reasons). Any advise (besides google and call my local dealers)?